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GOP Senators React To Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal As Trump’s Nominee
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Peter Frank paddled from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in June to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland this month in his 1982 Sawyer Loon decked canoe, but he’s still got a long way to go. The 23-year-old is about a quarter of the way on his planned journey of roughly 6,000 miles to complete the Great Loop route. This continuous watercourse includes part of the Atlantic and Gulf intracoastal waterways, the Great Lakes, part of the Canadian Heritage Canals and inland U.S. rivers. For Frank, the voyage is largely a way to express his gratitude for still being alive and having the ability to take on the physical challenge, almost a decade after a car accident left him with 14 broken bones and nearly paralyzed. He was hiding in a pile of leaves to surprise a friend when a carful of teens drove through the pile without knowing he was there. “It’s my form of showing the appreciation for being alive and being able to walk and do the things that I can do,” he said during a break in Annapolis, Maryland, earlier this month, a day before setting out again. He also enjoys writing about his experiences on and meeting people along the way. “I’m grateful to be out here and to share this story,” Frank says. “In some regard, I feel that I have a responsibility to document the things that I experience for people who don’t get to experience them or that dream of experiencing them. That is why it’s important to me.” Clad in a rabbit-fur hat and clothes he made himself to resemble a pirate, he generally paddles between six and 10 hours a day in his 1982 decked vessel, its shell hollowed to stow supplies. Many nights, he sleeps in a tent by the water. However, he often gets invitations from readers of his blog to stay in their homes. To keep warm, he’s picked up a 1970s vintage heavy down coat, an ultra-light Patagonia jacket he found in a thrift store, 1950s German military cold-weather mittens, a set of warm thermals and several wool socks. Recently, when he felt underdressed, he designed and sewed his own pants that he quilted over cotton flannel for extra layering. He carries 10 portable power banks, plus cords and outlet plugs. He says his electronics bag alone, holding only batteries and cords, weighs almost 25 pounds. “I find that 10 is a good amount and will keep me charged on GPS, radio, cameras and phone battery through any predicament,” he says. “I also carry a solar panel as a backup and can charge almost anything I need.” He doesn’t carry much for self-defense: only a small filet knife for fish and a pocket knife for cutting rope. Frank says he’s confident in his ability to protect himself, such as being mindful in bear country, tying up food or simply avoiding populated areas. The Eagle Scout, who still visits with a local scout troop in his hometown, prepared a hearty portion of his food for the long adventure. He dehydrated game meat and ground beef in an oven and vacuum-sealed it for the trek. Frank earns some income by writing about his experience. His blog also helps him pay grocery bills via his “Rotisserie Chicken Fund,” where people can click to send him money. “Every now and then, somebody will send me $20 online, which helps out a lot for like food and stuff, but in the meantime, I also write for magazines, and the magazines will publish my work,” he says. Frank made long-distance trips by bicycle, unicycle and canoes before. For example, he’s already explored Florida by canoe, which took him about 11 months, ending in May 2023. “I really, really do enjoy them,” Frank says of the adventures. “I enjoy being alive most of all, and so I guess for me these expeditions are not only my college and my education, but it’s also my form of worship in a way, my giving thanks to the world for being alive and being able to walk.” The Great Loop is his most challenging trip yet. While the journey is a bucket-list route for avid boaters, it’s rarely done with reliance on muscling a canoe. Frank also travels clockwise, which he says is the harder route because he’s paddling against the current on inland rivers for more than 25% of the trip. Frank launched his trip on June 27 in Escanaba, Michigan, where he’s from. He paddled into Canada and crossed Lake Ontario, where he camped on islands. On his way south, he went through New York City, floating by the Statue of Liberty. While he’s given some long study to the Great Loop route, not everything has been perfectly mapped out for the canoeist. He says he’s had to do some wayfinding on his own. While leaving New York, he took the Delaware and Raritan Canal, using portages he says he found that weren’t mentioned in route plans. Frank says he hopes to write an informational guide to fill in some gaps about details of the route. He’s also thinking about writing an autobiography. “I’d like to put something together that’s purely educational that would be a guide, and then I’d like to put something together that’s kind of like the story of a young man finding himself in a world that he doesn’t fully understand yet,” Frank says. He was living with his parents before he started traveling when he left home to unicycle across the U.S. for charity when he was 19. “I’ll sometimes go back and visit for a couple of months between expeditions, but for the last three years I’ve just been traveling full time,” he says. Everything he owns is in his canoe. He says he doesn’t need much money to keep on flowing. “Is this comfortable or practical? Absolutely not,” he said, “but through the struggles of following my dreams with little to nothing, I’ve developed the capacity to enjoy less, and as a result, I live well with little.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Dejounte Murray plans to return to the ' lineup on Wednesday night for the first time since in a season-opening victory over Chicago on Oct. 23. And when Murray takes the court against the , his mother will be on his mind. After practice on Tuesday, Murray discussed his impending return and disclosed more details about the previously unspecified “personal matters” that caused him to leave the team during the final days of the preseason. His mother had a stroke, he said. “It was tough to leave and go deal with that. As she got better, she wanted me to come play,” Murray said of his last-minute decision to start against Chicago. He added that his hand injury near the end of that game was God's way of telling him, “‘Nah, you need to stay with your mom.’” “I was more concerned about my mother. That was my priority,” Murray continued. “I wasn’t really worried about my recovery.” Murray's mother has recovered well, he said, while he is “healthy and ready to help this team.” “I’m ready to hoop. Play for my mother — she’s going to be watching," Murray said. “I’m ready to compete, bring that winning spirit.” The Pelicans (4-14) certainly could use the help, having lost 14 of 16 games since opening the season with a pair of victories. Injuries have ravaged the roster. At times, all five starters have been out. Star power forward Zion Williamson has missed 12 games this season — one with an illness and 11 with a hamstring injury. Herb Jones has been sidelined by a shoulder strain and Brandon Ingram's status is in doubt after he sat out practice on Tuesday with calf soreness that also sidelined him during a loss on Monday night at Indiana. But at least two starters — Murray and fellow guard CJ McCollum — are expected to play against the Raptors. “I don’t care how many games we’ve lost. I just know every time I step on the floor I feel like we can win games,” said Murray, who had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in his lone game with the Pelicans. "That’s just my mentality, and I feel like it can carry over to a lot of guys.” AP NBA:
How major US stock indexes fared Thursday, 12/26/2024HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- The busiest shopping season of the year is almost here, but before you head to the mall or open up that computer, you may want to consider shopping small. From local chocolate shops and bakeries to one-of-a-kind toy stores, you can find countless unique gifts while giving back to your community. One of those small businesses is Grandma's Place in Harlem, where a former teacher is working to ensure all children develop a love for reading and learning. Joelle Garguilo sat down with the owner of the shop, Grandma Dawn, to talk about her unique business. Joelle: I look around this shop Grandma Dawn and it is so special and it makes me think about what you were like as a kid. What did you play with as a kid? Grandma Dawn: I didn't have toys as a child my mother gave me clothing and pajamas and tangerines and nuts and stockings. Joelle: So who raised you? Or should I say what raised you? Grandma Dawn: The block. The people on my block raised me. The tailor and his wife and two sons were my family. And I ran errands for the hairdresser and the barber and anyone on the block. I wasn't allowed off the block. But my enterprise at 6 years old was running errands on the block for people. Joelle: Your love of books where did that come from? Grandma Dawn: My mom cleaned offices in the evening and she bought back books that were discarded I would pick up the books and I would read the books. I would read my sisters. And I would read the books my mom bought home from work. But I loved books because they told me about places I never saw about before. Joelle: I also know the library in so many ways raised you. Grandma Dawn: Yes Joelle: Your sister would drop you off at the library? Grandma Dawn: They call it the Harry Belafonte Library now. Before they called it the 15th Library and I read all the books in the children's book and the lady told me I could go into the adult section and read those books. Joelle: You have become the unofficial grandma to the neighborhood and that must be a title you wear with so much pride. Grandma Dawn: Yes, because that's why the store is Grandma Dawn because my children call me Grandma and so the kids on the block thought that my name was Grandma, so everyone called me Grandma Dawn. "She's like everybody's grandma, so I think anybody who had that kind of grandma that they could go to speak to about anything you know if they had any kind of issue or even if it's just something they just want to cuddle with somebody you know just have a nice body to hold onto that's grandma," a customer said. Joelle: If there were to be a book about Grandma's Place what would be the story you'd be telling in those pages? Grandma Dawn: The resiliency of some of these parents and these children. I mean some of them have very difficult lives. But the fact that a parent who is barely making it will come in a toy store and take a recommendation about a particular book or toy, so it was my duty to have the right book and right toy. If this woman was going to spend this money on her child I wanted to make sure it was uplifting and it was important for the child and it would be something that would make the child feel that they were worth something. Grandma Dawn has been the grandmother to her neighborhood for decades. She tells us what has kept her going all these years and how she's working to ensure no child gets left behind, this Friday on storefront stories hosted by Joelle Garguilo. She'll introduce you to some of the faces behind New York City's small businesses ahead of Small Business Saturday. That's Friday at 10:30 a.m. on ABC 7. ---------- * Get Eyewitness News Delivered * More Manhattan news * Send us a news tip * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts * Follow us on YouTube Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
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